After David Hyde Pierce (Niles Crane on the sitcom Frasier) accidentally exposes himself during a live awards show, the FCC begins a campaign of relentlessly censoring anything that could be considered too indecent for TV and Peter fights back by creating his own TV show featuring the kind of raunchy content TV used to allow — which gets him in trouble with the FCC, who turn to censoring reality.
This episode contains examples of:
- An Aesop: A few examples —
- Parents and legal guardians are the ones who should ultimately take responsibility for what kids watch on TV.
- There are much worse influences for children besides what they see in pop culture, including what's seen on TV.
- Don't overreact to every little obscene thing that you see on TV or in movies, because it's probably not that big of a deal.
- Artistic License: Peter is forced to miss the Emmy Awards due to having to attend a performance of a school play that Meg is appearing in. In real life, if a school play is performed on a Sunday, it would most likely be an afternoon performance (as most of the performers would have class the next day). Also, it's pretty much impossible for a play performed by high school students to happen the same day as the Emmys, as the ceremony happens in September (and with most high schools only being back in session for a few weeks by this point, there's no real way a school-produced play will be ready by this point).
- Attentive Shade Lowering: Osama Bin Laden Lampshades this trope while lowering his own pair of glasses at a meeting with his men.
- Berserk Button: Lois remains steadfast supportive of the FCC, until they ban intercourse. Within a quick duration of time, the sexually active Lois becomes frustrated with their meddling and admits to Peter that he was right all along.
- Bowdlerization: On the TV version, the show that drives Lois to call the FCC is The Side Boob Hour (a collection of clips featuring the sides of actresses' breasts). In the DVD version, the show that pushes Lois to call the FCC is a Jackass-style gross-out prank show called Douchebags, where Peter plays the game "I Dare You to Crap Off Of That" and takes a dump on a bridge over a highway, which hits Lois's car and causes it to crash. The FOX censors told Seth MacFarlane that if he wanted the scene kept in, he'd have to edit it so that way Peter couldn't pull down his pants and the wet plop of the crap couldn't be heard (among other things). MacFarlane thought this was too much trouble, so he deleted the "Douchebags" sequence and redid it so that way Lois would freak out over The Side Boob Hour.
- Crazy-Prepared: Peter had set up a "Peter's Right" banner when he and Lois first moved into their house for a moment when he was right and she was wrong. Complete with balloons and a clown...well, his skeleton no less.
- Dinner with the Boss: The familiar trope appears in Cheeky Bastard, a Show Within a Show created by Brian and Stewie.Brian: Oh my God, where's my roast pheasant?
Stewie: Hmm. By now, I think it's in my lower intestine.
[canned laughter]
Brian: You ate it? But I told you my boss was coming here for dinner!
Stewie: Well, unless he likes pork rinds, he's going home hungry.
[canned laughter]
Brian: You cheeky bastard. - Dumbass Has a Point: When the FCC puts a stop to her and her husband's sex life, Lois begrudgingly admits Peter was right about it going too far, to which Peter excitedly pulls down a banner that says "Peter's Right," which he set up when they first moved into the house.
- Everything Except Most Things: "You can have sex, just no moaning, no tongue kissing, no thrusting, no movement whatsoever."
- Fan Disservice:
- Certain other moments in the show aren't so attractive for viewers such as Peter, Stewie and Brian singing "The Freakin' FCC" song while dressed in lingerie.
- ... as well as numerous moments in the clip montage accompanying the above song.
- Quagmire naked
- ...followed by a third side-boob in "The Side-Boob Hour" where Peter reveals it's his side-boob on display.
Peter: How about that side-boob? Does that turn you on? [Camera zooms out, revealing Peter shirtless] Well it shouldn't, because that's my side-boob. - Fanservice: Certain moments of the show, such as two side-boobs displayed in "The Side-Boob Hour".
- Freud Was Right: Peter manages to plead his anti-censorship case to the US government (after getting their attention by farting into a megaphone.) He argues that every structure in Washington DC is pornographic in nature, from the Washington Monument's phallic shape to the Capitol Building's resemblance to a breast to even the Pentagon looking just like an anus from above.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Cobra Commander is (for whatever reason) the FCC's chairman. He orders them to start censoring things after the Hyde Pierce incident, then pulls a Villain: Exit, Stage Left.
- Hilarious Outtakes: Parodied. The Cold Open depicts Osama Bin Laden Corpsing while recording threatening videos.
- I Can't Believe I'm Saying This:Lois: Peter, we have to talk. Look, I thought this FCC thing was a good idea at first, but it's just gone way too far.
Peter: What are you saying, Lois?
Lois: Well, I don't want to admit it, but you were right. - Insane Troll Logic: According to the FCC, one call equals a billion people. Since they got 20 calls about the David Hyde Pierce incident, they think that 20 billion people were offended by it, even though 20 billion people was roughly three times the population of the entire planet at the time of this episode's airing.
- The Last Straw: While Lois was worried enough about the shows broadcast on PTV, but it took The Side-Boob Hour (or Douchebags on the DVD version), for her to finally call the FCC and shut the network down.
- Laugh Track: Parodied with Brian and Stewie's sitcom Cheeky Bastard, which (despite Stewie's claim that it was filmed before a live studio audience) features a laugh track provided by Stewie himself.
- Lethal Negligence: Played for Laughs; One Cutaway Gag shows Peter babysitting the neighbor's young child, leaving him unattended in an overfilled bathtub surrounded by plugged-in appliances, prescription medications, and a bottle of drain cleaner, then turning off the bathroom lights.
- Lousy Lovers Are Losers: When told that they can't kiss, move, or thrust during sex, Lois complains that that isn't sex while Peter sits there with a bored look on his face before announcing "I'm done" and instantly falling asleep on top of her.
- Missing the Good Stuff: Thanks to Lois forcing Peter to go to Meg's school play and not let him watch the Emmy Awards, Peter missed David Hyde Pierce's exposure. He's not happy when he finds out.Peter: Well, that's just great, Lois. Thanks to you, I missed a moment of television history!
- My God, What Have I Done?: Lois initially approves of the FCC's actions of censoring real-life, feeling that the people of Quahog need a lesson in decency, but then she starts to regret it when it puts a stop to her and Peter's sex life, and Peter angrily points out that this was all technically Lois's fault for calling them in the first place. In the end, Lois sheepishly admits that Peter was right all along.
- Negative Continuity: Meg reappears alive and well in this episode despite being killed by the villagers in the previous episode, Jungle Love.
- Noodle Implements: When the FCC starts drowning out Peter's profanity with an air horn, he starts rambling about what Lois is still good for...whatever it is.Peter: You know, you're lucky you're good at (air horn) my (air horn). You know what I mean, when you (air horn) lubed up (air horn) toothpaste in my (air horn) cherry (air horn) Episcopalian (air horn) extension cord (air horn) wetness (air horn) with a parking ticket. That is the best!
- Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: At the beginning of the episode, Peter is stapling red carpet to the bedroom floor. Lois doesn't want him doing that and pins him to the floor. Lois asks him if he likes eating red carpet, and Peter responds affirmatively. Outside, Quagmire hears this line and assumes Peter is giving Lois oral sex. He drops to the ground and says, "Giggity."
- Overly Long Gag: One cutaway involves Ozzy Osbourne eating a sandwich on-stage, instead of biting the head off a bat. He takes a few bites and chews carefully before declaring: "I'll finish it later! Yay."
- Shout-Out:
- The Parents Television Council: By this time, the conservative-leaning entertainment industry watchdog group and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane were locked in a heated war over the show's content and suitability for family viewing. The PTC had already slapped one of the series' episodes – "And the Wiener Is … " – with a "Worst Show of the Week" and filed a complaint with the FCC over its sex-laced content. This episode was a response to the PTC's ongoing complaints, with the initials "PTV" being a sarcastic satire of the PTC.
- The Simpsons: The opening segment sees Stewie run over Homer Simpson. Peter sees Homer lying on the garage floor, unconscious and likely dead, and asks, "Who the hell is that?" Originally, it was supposed to be Peter running to the door as Stewie drives in front of him, but the writers thought it would be funnier to have him run down Homer Simpson.
- Super Bowl XXXVIII: The infamous "wardrobe malfunction" involving pop singers Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson inspired an in-episode incident where David Hyde Pierce's trousers accidentally broke during an Emmy Awards broadcast, resulting in a media frenzy. A direct parody of the incident, with Peter in Jackson's place, can be seen near the end of the FCC song.
- The Cold Open is a parody/recreation of The Naked Gun.
- Side Boob: Peter took this trope and turned it into an entire show on his network, PTV, dubbed "The Peter Griffin Sideboob Hour".
- Song Parody: "The Fellas at the Freakin' FCC" is a parody of "Volunteer Firemen Picnic" from the musical Take Me Along.
- Sophisticated as Hell: Quagmire's show — which he hosts in the buff — is a Playboy After Dark-esque show that mixes highbrow and lowbrow content at the same time:Quagmire: [in a calm voice] Welcome to Midnight Q. Tonight, we're gonna enjoy the smooth jazz of Charles Mingus, Norman Mailer is here to read an excerpt from his latest book, and we also have a girl from Omaha who's hiding a banana. We'll find out where. Giggity giggity. Giggity goo. Stick around.
- Speed Sex: Played with. After hearing the list of prohibitive rules described above, Lois complains she doesn't see how she and Peter can have sex, when Peter declares he's done and falls asleep on top of her.
- Tempting Fate: After the FCC shut down PTV, Peter claims that they can't stop people from being who they are. The FCC takes that as a challenge and begins censoring real life (or at least the Griffins' lives).
- Toilet Humour: (farts into a megaphone) "Gentlemen, that was a fart."
- Not to mention the fictitious The Brady Bunch episode that closes the show, with the Bradys standing around a toilet:Cindy: Look what I did. Isn't it the biggest, most super-special poop you've ever seen?
Mike: Well, Cindy, I guess it's true that big things come in small packages.
- Not to mention the fictitious The Brady Bunch episode that closes the show, with the Bradys standing around a toilet:
- "The Villain Sucks" Song: "They're the fellas at the freakin' FCC!" Reportedly, the real FCC thought it was hilarious.
- Waiting Skeleton: After Lois decides she's had enough of the FCC and tells Peter that he was right all along, he presses a button that launches a "Peter's Right" party, which he claims he's been saving for ever since they first moved into the house, and wonders what happened to the clown. A few moments later, a skeleton with a rainbow wig falls from the ceiling.
- Would Hurt a Child: To get out of Meg's school play, Brian punches Stewie, then uses his crying as an excuse to take him outside.
